Friday, January 6, 2012

Banana bread is one of those things people rarely make on purpose. Even though you know you’re not going to eat seven bananas in a week, you buy the big bunch anyway, because, “it’s kind of green.” Now, those last three bananas are almost black and you’re feeling like a bad person.

Then you remember banana bread, and long story short, you realize you’re not a bad person…in fact, you kind of rock. While that’s the most common scenario, this scrumptious banana walnut loaf, spiked with dark chocolate chips, is so good you’ll want to make it well before the bananas get to that condition. Yes, it does come out better with extra ripe bananas, but if you can’t wait (like I couldn’t), you’re still in for a treat.

The chocolate chips are sparse here, but make a big difference in the overall flavor. This is a case where more wouldn’t necessarily make it better. This should be more of a snack, not a super-sweet dessert. When Michele makes this, she actually grates unsweetened baking chocolate instead, and it’s amazingly like that also. And, don’t even get me started on how good this is toasted.

Love the gooey top to a banana bread! The way my grandmother used to serve this is to cut two thin slices and put a small amount of butter between them and press them together. The velvety mouthfeel of the butter transforms them. That is also a great way to serve pumpkin and zucchini bread.

I have a question: in this recipe and some others you beat in the eggs one at a time. I've always been curious: what's the reason for not doing them both at once? Thanks Chef John, can't wait to try this loaf out!

I can't believe you dropped this food wish on us today! I've been saving overripe bananas for my first attempt at banana bread for a month now. It's like... [inhale] you can read my freezer, man... [exhale]

I do have the best banana bread recipe...now :)A local restaurant was featured in the newspaper about the banana bread french toast they serve for brunch...I made this recipe then made it into french toast too. All I can say is I'm glad I did it at home, cause if I had been in public when I tried it...I would have done something inappropriate! Sooooo gooooood!!!!

Hi Chef John! I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! Making the rouge was harder than I anticipated, but it all worked out great. ps. I have never spent so much money on cheese, it was good cheese, but still...

I'm with Jesse from Detroit - have bananas in my freezer just waiting for my first attempt at homemade banana bread! My husband (who only eats perfectly yellow 'nanas) and I have a debate going.. Perhaps you can settle it. When is a banana so overly ripe that it is no longer a good idea to make bread with it?

My little girl and i made this last night...i only used two freckled bananas and used the same chocolate i used for my pot de creme's the night before....and left out NUTS and it turned out DELISHHHHHHH Thank you Chef John! Tonight its SLOPPY JOES! You should nickname them sloppy JOHNS ;)

I made this recipe last night and it was absolutely delicious. It has the perfect amount of bananas, sugar, nuts and chocolate. I ended up using mini semi sweet chocolate chips because that's all I had in my pantry but it was to die for. Thanks so much Chef John!!! =)

alright, lemme see, it took a little over 15 minutes to prepare this recipe (most time was waiting for the butter to get to room temperature...I got impatient and smashed it up with mt potato smoosher) an hour and ten minutes in the oven. Such awesome results, I skipped my usual cookie. You were right, toasted with a little butter was great....toasted with a little peanut butter...awesome.

Just made this recipe with my daughter. Yep, you are right, it is the best banana bread recipe. So yummy. Love watching your videos with my daughter then we make your recipes. Great mommy daughter time in the kitchen. Thank you.

I made this recipe this morning for the family, and it is indeed the best banana bread ever. I am very impressed.

I had one little mishap though: I think I may need a bigger loaf pan.(it's normal size). I smelled burnt bread only 15 minutes into baking, peeked in the oven to see what was up, and my loaf had risen way, way too high and quite a bit of dough had plopped off and was burning at the bottom of the oven. Good thing this banana bread was the bomb or otherwise I might have been real mad at you. ;-)I know, I know, I could have placed a cookie sheet under the loaf...but hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it? :D

Ah,Chef,your banana jokes always crack me up ;)This recipe is mouthwatering...good thing you don't need a mixer,i am too lazy to use it and clean it up afterwards!shame on me...i'm baking this the second i get my hands on some bananas

I am not a fan of this recipe. I made this bread and the only change I made was to use white chocolate chips. The bread looked beautiful when it came out of the oven but that is where it ended. We tried the bread after cooling and it is very heavy and tough and doesn't have that pleasing of a flavor. My tried and true banana bread recipe is much better than this. Sorry chef John, but you missed the mark with this.

DELICIOUS! I added dark chocolate chopped from a bar since I didn't have any chocolate chips, and I baked it in mini muffin pans. All I needed was some vanilla ice cream to make it a dessert!! :0) Thanks for the recipe!

I love your cooking videos. You explain things so thoroughly. My banana bread tastes really good, but I'm wondering why I don't see the black specks you normnally see in banana bread. I am using very riped bananas. Do you know why?

I lightly butter (or oil) the pan and dump in some sugar and cinnamon and tap it around the bottom and sides and then tap out the extra. I like the edges sorta crispy. Try it, how often do ya have a bunch of half rotting bananas laying around? I always buy enough with the intention of making banana bread but the banana fiends leave me two. I've also used a dribble or two of brandy. ummm. One can freeze banana puree but then you have to remember where in the freezer you put it!

So glad I found this blog! This my second recipe, the first were the red velvet cupcakes for valentines day, and they were a hit and know this bread, also a hit! I'm in love with this blog! Keep up the good work Chef John! Can't wait to keep making your recipes!

This is a tremendous recipe. I've made it about 5 times. Once though, it overflowed the pan and made a mess of the oven. What might have caused that? The finished product wasn't pretty, but it still tasted great.

I just started to bake this now.. and I realized I forgot to butter the loaf pan. Other than the bread sticking to the pan, will this affect the taste? Thank you so much. I'm a newbie when it comes to cooking & I wanted to try this recipe :)

thanks chef john, i did a simple and quick version of this today...but i did muffins and i left out the nuts...due to allergies. They came out great, really moist on the inside and the outside was just crunchy! the family loved it! :)

I've been on the quest for banana bread perfection and I made this last night and really, this is the best banana bread recipe I have ever made/tasted. Thanks for making me feel awesome about my baking abilities!

I completely agree with CaliKathy. I've been on the same quest for long. I made this yesterday, and I can really say this is the best I have ever made and tasted so far. My family love it.Thanks to Chef John! :)

It's half an hour to midnight here in Vienna, Austria and I have a flight to catch to London tomorrow. So, really, those two _very_ ripe bananas on my counter needed some love and purpose. Misread the posting and decided to go with it anyways. Also substituted half the sugar for brown sugar and chopped up a bar of 65% cocoa chocolate (chocolate chips are not sold that commonly over here...) - I am so curious as to how this will turn out - but I'm pretty hopeful that it'll be great. Thank you for all the inspiration, Chef John :)

I just had a late night craving for some banana nut bread, went on you tube and found this recipe. Seriously the best banana nut bread everrrr. I left out the chocolate and substituted 1/2 sugar with brown sugar. I'm not much of a cook but even I couldn't screw this up!

Chef, I just made your recipe but I didn't use baking soda.I also changed chocolate for peanut butter. I also changed the milk for condensed milk and lastly I used cashews and almonds instead of walnuts. Also added a real twist, I added 1/2 cup of fresh mango. I mashed the banana and the mango together and then followed you instructions....Man it came out so good. I made it into bread and I did muffins too. I have to say it was so moist,sweet and peanutty...Here is the revised instructions of ingredients

Anon on July 4... you overbaked it. 110 minutes is not one hour and ten minutes. One hour and ten minutes is 70 minutes, so you baked it for 40 minutes too long.Also, try checking it periodically, since times may vary.Mine was done after 35 minutes, but I made two loaves instead of one.

Loved the recipe, already made three loaves. By the way, my father is diabetic, so I made one loaf with granultaed splenda instead of sugar (1 cup), and it tastes mostly the same (it cooked faster for some reason though, so be careful)

I already made three loaves, and everybody loved them. I made one loaf woth splenda (1 cup) and no sugar chocolate chips,since my father is diabetic, and it tasted pretty much the same (only, it cooked faster for some reason, so be careful)

Hi, Chef John, I want to ask a question...if the answer is/was obvious, please don't laugh...is there a "print button" somewhere so I can print the recipes I love? Such as, the banana-walnut-chocolate chip bread...could not find a print button. Thanks for you fantastic recipes and hilarious videos!!!

My kids and I watched your video last night before going to bed. I made it into muffins (25mins save a lot of time)I skipped the chocolate and nuts but put 1frozen strawberry in each muffin to be school friendly. Wow! They are so delicious that I have to post my comment! Thanks chef John!

Hi Lily. Chef John is out on a well deserved vacation and I will be answering questions meanwhile. If your mom is not a fan of bananas, I would recommend using shredded zucchini instead. Will be delicious! Enjoy.

My grandpa forgot his bananas (figurative/literal?) in his car. It's like 66F outside and 70+F indoors. He finally remembered them three days later and his car smells like ripe bananas. He gave them to me to deal with them then I recalled that Chef John said that he had the BEST banana loaf in the sea of banana loaf recipe versions. And Chef John being the culinary pope, I was bound to believe him.

But I digress. Is it okay to use the pyrex glass loaf pans? I have everything ready, down to the Ghirardeli baking chips. >_< I am so excited to bake it tonight so I can eat it for breakfast (toasted) with melty homemade butter (butter churning method courtesy of Chef John).

Is it alright to use the pyrex? How do I adjust the time and/or temperature?

Chef John was spot on when he said this recipe made the best banana bread in the world -- yummy! I had a whopping seven bananas that were more black than yellow (the skins, I mean) and doubled the recipe, making half banana muffins with almonds and the other half a tube cake with pecans (pecans definitely better). Mmmmmmm

A perfect banana bread recipe Chef John! Thanks! I like how coating the walnuts and mini toll-house morsels in the flour before adding the wet helps keep the nuts and chips suspended evenly in the batter while it bakes, instead of their gravitating toward the lower third of the loaf. Very yummy and picture perfect! =D

I made this today and it was so good! Similar to what my mom and great grandma made but even better! (Shh, don't tell mom). I am your newest follower/stalker and can't wait to try more of your recipes.

Thank you Chef John! I just made this for some friends. Because some of them can't take gluten, I substituted AP flour with my homemade gluten free cake flour(oat flour, coconut flour, brown rice flour, xanthan gun). Delicious!! Everyone loves it, it's so moist than no one can tell its made of whole grain. I also substituted stevia for sugar, added 6 tbsp Greek yogurt because coconut flour absorbs so many water.﻿

I have a problem I thought I memorized this recipe from making it soo many times but I guess not lol I put in two teaspoons of baking soda and baking powder each they are still in the oven do you think they'll be ok

Looks like I'm really late to this post. Several years actually. However I was wondering if I could make the bread dough ahead of time and bake it Christmas morning. Would leaving it in the fridge 24 or even 48 hours ruin the bread? Thanks chef John. looks amazing!

Made my second one in 4 days! That's what happens when you are snowed and have bananas too soft to eat by themselves. Again may I say hands down this is the best banana recipe I have tried this year and 4 years ago. I never liked nuts and chocolates in my bread but I found that it was because people usually overload the bread with those. I put 2 tbsp of chocolate chips and 2 tbsp walnuts crushed into small pieces. Perfect for me! The taste gets better as you go. I am planning to freeze half the bread to eat at later dates.